Kuala Terengganu MP Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad has urged the government not to make empty promises and focus on solving problems faced by local fishermen, including thoroughly stopping Vietnamese fishermen from encroaching in Malaysian waters.

In a statement today, the Amanah lawmaker brought up Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek’s recent announcement that the government proposes to increase the revenue of fishermen to RM5,000 a month by 2020.

He also expressed doubt over figures used by Shabery in relation to fishermen’s present monthly incomes, which had been said to be between RM1,500 to RM2,000.

He compared Shabery’s figures to a study done by researchers from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), who had met fishermen in Kampung Seberang Takir claiming that their income was just RM400 a month. The village is located next to Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman’s constituency near the state capital.

“Do Shabery and Razif know the reality of the UMT research findings?” he asked, adding that the government should stop promising projects for fishermen as the general election approaches, and instead face the reality of hardships faced by local fishermen and their families.

“The RM5,000 monthly income is also an unrealistic target (what) with three years left, and our fishermen are among the poorest in Malaysia,” he said.

Raja Bahrin said what fishermen needed were an increase in the fish population in local waters, which was presently being hampered by encroaching Vietnamese fishermen and a lack of border enforcement.

He said this situation had continued under one minister to another, from Noh Omar to Ismail Sabri Yaakob and now Shabery, who also hails from Terengganu.

The Kuala Terengganu MP questioned the seriousness of governmental efforts to improve local fishermen’s welfare, given the lack of allocated patrol boats to enforce borders and look after their safety.

He added that since being elected as an MP, he had raised issues faced by fishermen especially from Terengganu and the east coast, and had also helped arrange a meeting with the minister in charge.

Had high hopes on Shabery

Raja Bahrin said he and the fishermen had had high hopes when Shabery, who is also Kemaman MP, was appointed as the minister. However, such hopes had been dampened when issues raised had gone unaddressed, including the incursion of Vietnamese fishermen, the Vietnamese’s use of illegal nets resulting in dwindling fish catches, and the need to increase patrols.

“They are not seeking additional subsidies but basic things like increasing enforcement and safety, which is the government's responsibility. As a result of the government shirking its responsibility, catches are dwindling, which leads to a rise in fish prices.

“Our demands and proposals are taken lightly by the minister and the authorities. (For example) The problem of a lack of (border) patrols by the authorities is due to an insufficient supply of petrol for the patrol boats, which has not been resolved until today,” he said.

Raja Bahrin added that, in comparison to the high powered Vietnamese boats, some Malaysian patrol boats were more than 40 years old and faced limited petrol supplies.

The federal lawmaker said the situation had been exacerbated by a lack of coordination between authorities from the Marine Department, the Fisheries Department, and the Marine Police, with each faulting the other resulting in the lack of a concrete solution.

“They asked the fishermen to provide complete proof of where they are at sea. Pictures are sent but there has been no action for years,” he said, adding that their suggestion of using drones had been laughed at and rejected by the authorities.

“Now the fishermen have provided videos showing the Vietnamese fishermen encroaching our waters, which have gone viral. What further proof does the minister want? I urge the minister to focus on the main issue, which is Vietnamese fishermen encroaching on our waters,” he said.

Raja Bahrin said Shabery should not shirk his responsibilities by digressing from the issue and giving false promises of RM5,000 incomes to fishermen.

“There must be political will and a serious effort made by the government to resolve the issue in order to increase fishermen’s incomes,” he added.